Guest cast: Lindsay Taylor (little girl); Shawn Pyfrom (little boy); Blake Swendson (Michael); Grant Garrison (Roy); Roger Morrissey (demon); Daniel Tamm (monster)
Plot: Joyce becomes an activist to rid Sunnydale of evil—even if it means killing her own daughter to do it.
THIS WEEK’S BRATS: A demon hiding in the guise of two helpless children, Hans and Greta Strauss.
INTRODUCING: Willow’s mom, Sheila Rosenberg.
ANALYSIS: This week’s demon is different in that it lets people do its dirty work. By simply invoking fear, the darker side of our human nature takes over and the result is persecution of innocents.
Joyce’s desire to better understand her daughter’s life as the Slayer is understandable but, just as most teens prefer to keep parts of their lives private from their parents, Buffy isn’t sure she wants her mom to become a member of the Scooby Gang. Not only would Buffy worry about Joyce’s safety, but her mom isn’t a hardened veteran of the Hellmouth wars the way Buffy, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, and Giles are. Because of all they’ve been through together, they share a tacit understanding of the ways of evil that Joyce and the other parents couldn’t begin to appreciate.
The scene where Joyce and Sheila Rosenberg stand ready to burn their daughters at the stake is the ultimate in lack of communication between parent and child. By criticizing Buffy’s effectiveness as the Slayer, she undermines her daughter’s self-confidence. Like most teens, Buffy wants her mother’s approval, especially in this case, since Slaying isn’t just a pastime but a noble calling.
While Joyce’s heart starts out in the right place, she plays into the demon’s hands by allowing her emotions to take the lead. In the end, when confronted with the evil humans can inflict on one another, the horror of the near-fatal consequences of her actions causes Joyce to go into denial and pretend none of it ever happened, another typical human response that is the basis for the adage: “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.”
THE REAL HORROR: The mob mentality. The events in this episode are obviously meant to reference the Salem witch trials of 1692, an incident in American history that demonstrates the dangers of fear, magnified by a crowd feeding on the emotions of one other. The normally rational people of Sunnydale are turned into vigilantes who justify their actions in the name of “good.” It’s sobering how quickly human beings succumb to mob rule, proving that, for all our civilization, we are still not far removed from our primitive ancestors.
IT’S A MYSTERY: Why doesn’t Willow ask Giles to help her turn Amy back into a human? Wouldn’t he remember how Amy turned Buffy back from a rat in Episode 28, “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered”?
OF SPECIAL NOTE: Jordan Baker appeared with Alyson Hannigan in an episode of Picket Fences, called “To Forgive Is Divine.”
In the spell Amy uses to turn herself into a rat and escape being burned at the stake, she calls on Hecate, the Greek “Goddess of the Dark of the Moon,” who was also the patron of magic. Hecate, whose name means “influence from afar” has three forms that allow her to be all-seeing and all-knowing.
46. “Helpless”
(JANUARY 19, 1999)
Director: James Contner
Teleplay: David Fury
Recurring cast: Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers)
Guest cast: Jeff Kober (Zackary Kralik); Harris Yulin (Quentin Travers) Dominic Keating (Blair); David Haydn-Jones (Hobson); Nick Cornish (guy); Don Dowe (construction worker)
Plot: Buffy gets an unwelcome surprise for her eighteenth birthday, courtesy of the Watchers’ Council.
THIS WEEK’S PSYCHOTIC VAMPIRE: Zachary Kralik, a criminally insane serial killer—and that was before he became a vampire.
INTRODUCING: The Cruciamentum, an age-old Slayer rite of passage that tests a Slayer’s resilience and resourcefulness. After using drugs to sap all her powers, the Slayer is locked in a house with a vampire. She either survives by her wits and training—or dies.
INTRODUCING: Quentin Travers, head of the Watchers’ Council
ANALYSIS: To paraphrase: Those who can, Slay; those who can’t, work for the Watchers’ Council. Although the Council is in charge of maintaining the Slayer legacy, their old-school ways seem harshly out-of-step with the front-line evil-fighting that happens in Sunnydale. Buffy displays her abilities and resourcefulness on a daily basis so it seems patently absurd that she would be forced to prove herself in a barbaric ritual overseen by stuffed shirts who may have never dusted a vampire in their lives. But what makes it particularly appalling is that Giles is forced to participate in the deception by secretly drugging Buffy to dull her powers.
Although Buffy has never been one to immerse herself in Slayer lore or demonology the way Kendra did, she more than makes up for her lack of academic interest with her instincts. So even though she has lost the strength she has come to depend on, is no longer as impervious to pain, and her reflexes have been downgraded to those of a mere mortal, Buffy still has her wiles and instincts, which ultimately come through and prove to be her most formidable weapon, even when facing a homicidal maniac like Kralik.
The father-daughter aspect of Giles and Buffy’s relationship is once again explored. But in this case, he is just as disappointing as her real father, who suddenly is too busy to see Buffy even for her birthday. While Giles may have failed Buffy through his deception, in the end he proves he would give his life for her. Although he may not share her blood, he proves that the ultimate measure of a parent is being there when you’re needed the most. The Council might be able to fire Giles for having become too emotionally attached to Buffy, but they can’t come between them.
THE REAL HORROR: Betrayal. Because of the trust Buffy places in Giles and his role in her life as father figure, his deception is more painful than when Buffy’s real dad is a no-show for her birthday. Not to mention potentially fatal.
Even though Giles redeems himself by admitting the truth to Buffy after Kralik escapes, and by putting his own life and job on the line to dust a vampire about to pounce on her and Joyce, there is a sense that it will take awhile for the damage to their relationship to mend completely.
BLOOPERS: The boom microphone is visible in the top left-hand corner of the screen as Buffy is fighting the vamp in the episode’s first scene.
LITERARY ALLUSION: The book Angel gives Buffy, Sonnets from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, was originally published in 1850 and contains the famous poem “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”
OF SPECIAL NOTE: Dominic Keating, who guest-stars as Blair, is best known as Lieutenant Reed on Enterprise.
Jeff Kober, who plays Kralik, also played Daedalus, head of the Nosferatu clan of vampires in the 1996 television series Kindred: The Embraced.
Cruciamentum means “torture” or “torment” in Latin.
47. “The Zeppo”
(JANUARY 26, 1999)
Director: James Whitmore Jr.
Teleplay: Dan Vebber
Recurring cast: Eliza Dushku (Faith); Saverio Guerra (Willy)
Guest cast: Channon Roe (Jack); Michael Cudlitz (Bob); Darin Heames (Parker); Scott Torrence (Dickie); Whitney Dylan (Lysette); Vaughn Armstrong (cop)
Music: “Dodgems” (as Xander drives up in his uncle’s car), by Sound Stage, Ltd., from Alternative Volume 1; “G-Song” (at the Bronze), by Supergrass, from In It for the Money; “Easy” (while Xander is in the car with zombies), by Tricky Woo, from The Enemy Is Real.
Plot: Xander’s desire to be considered cool leads him down a path littered with cars, women, and zombies.
THIS WEEK’S DEADLY CULT: The Sisterhood of Jhe, a demon cult on a mission to open the Hellmouth and end the world.
ANALYSIS: The latest apocalypse takes a backseat to Xander’s crisis of confidence in this episode. At the same time Buffy and the others are forced to fight an epic battle with a demon and walked away victorious, Xander is left to battle his personal demons. The Hellmouth throws so many world-threatening evils at Buffy and her
friends that it’s easy to forget that in addition saving the world, these teenagers are also trying to figure out who they are and what their ultimate place in the grand scheme of things will be. Xander’s insecurities make him worry that he’s a hanger-on around Buffy when compared to Willow, Angel, and Giles, and his confidence is further eroded when he feels intimidated by a surly classmate, Jack.
Preoccupied with his image and desperate bid to amp up his cool factor, Xander seeks acceptance from Jack, who turns out to be the ringleader of a gang of high school jock zombies whose idea of a fun night is to blow up Sunnydale High. So while Buffy and the others are trying to avert the end of the world—again—Xander is left to prevent their destruction at the hands of the bomb-happy zombies. Left to his own devices, without Buffy or anyone else there to help or save him, Xander’s innate courage and heroism, which are frequently obscured behind his self-deprecation and insecurities, are on full display when he stares down Jack and practically wills him to disarm the bomb.
It seems fitting that on the same night Xander finds his sense of self-worth, he also loses his virginity. Even though sex with Faith is a far cry from his romantic fantasies about making love to Buffy, it takes him one more step away from being a teenage boy, to becoming a confident young man.
This episode is a sly satire of several now-established aspects of Buffy, especially the frequent attempts by various villains to bring about the apocalypse, and the intensity of the Buffy-Angel relationship.
THE REAL HORROR: Feeling inconsequential. Because the sum of the gang’s collective strong points is so great, Xander loses perspective of his individual contribution. He has to literally stare down death before he realizes that true courage is having the strength of your own convictions.
OF SPECIAL NOTE: Channon Roe appeared with Seth Green in the 1998 movie Can’t Hardly Wait and with Nicholas Brendon in the 2000 film Psycho Beach Party.
Xander is driving a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air.
48. “Bad Girls”
(FEBRUARY 9, 1999)
Director: Michael Lange
Teleplay: Douglas Petrie
Recurring cast: Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers); Eliza Dushku (Faith); K. Todd Freeman (Mr. Trick); Harry Groener (Mayor Richard Wilkins III); Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce)
Guest cast: Jack Plotnick (Allan Finch, deputy mayor); Christian Clemenson (Balthazar); Alex Skuby (Vincent); Wendy Clifford (Mrs. Taggert)
Music: “Chinese Burn” (while Buffy and Faith dance), by Curve, from Come Clean
Plot: Buffy takes a walk on the wild side, but Faith’s recklessness has tragic consequences.
THIS WEEK’S ADIPOSE-CHALLENGED NEMESIS: Balthazar, an obese demon who sends his minions—the sword-wielding El Eliminati—to find an amulet that will restore his strength.
INTRODUCING: Buffy’s new Watcher, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce; Willow referring to herself as a Wicca for the first time; Oz with black hair.
THE BIG BAD: Mayor Wilkins and his pending “ascension.”
ANALYSIS: Having carried the fate of the world on her shoulders for so long, part of Buffy envies Faith’s lack of angst and sheer enjoyment of Slaying. She tries on Faith’s attitude, like a pair of new shoes, and decides she likes the fit. It’s like getting to be someone else for a change: a new Buffy who isn’t weighed down by concerns of school tests or following laws—or being responsible to loyal friends.
Faith believes Slayers are above “normal” people and encourages Buffy to join her and embrace their power. And at first the view from atop Faith’s world leaves Buffy exhilarated and energized. The false sense of freedom is addictive and Buffy is seduced by it. The cold slap of reality quickly brings Buffy back down to earth after Faith accidentally kills the deputy mayor.
The guilt Buffy feels over the death makes her see the danger in getting caught up in the frenzy of the kill. She also realizes she and Faith aren’t alike at all. Faith Slays for the excitement but Slaying isn’t supposed to be sport; it’s a sacred responsibility and commitment.
It’s as if Faith intentionally tries to lead Buffy down a path of recklessness precisely because she knows Buffy’s motives are pure; Buffy selflessly accepts her calling in order to save and protect others. In her heart, Faith knows that she will never be as respected as Buffy because she will never have the strength of character Buffy possesses. Had Faith been able to make Buffy over in her own likeness, it would have made them equals, but as it stands, Faith is merely a shadow of a Slayer when compared to Buffy.
THE REAL HORROR: Hanging out with the wrong crowd. Why is it the bad kids often seem like they are having more fun? The idea of having nobody to answer to sounds ideal, but Buffy quickly learns that a lack of personal responsibility leads to emotional chaos. Because Faith has no commitment to anyone other than herself, she also has no anchor or steadying influence in her life. The downside of setting oneself apart from others is that when you fall, there’s nobody there to catch you.
IT’S A MYSTERY: Although the audience doesn’t know what he’s talking about, Balthazar alludes to the mayor’s planned “Ascension.” Is this common knowledge among Sunnydale demons or does Balthazar have insider information?
OF SPECIAL NOTE: Both Anthony Stewart Head and Alexis Denisof guest-starred on the series Highlander.
Among the schools Willow applies to is Wesleyan College in Connecticut, Joss Whedon’s alma mater.
49. “Consequences”
(FEBRUARY 16, 1999)
Director: Michael Gershman
Teleplay: Marti Noxon
Recurring cast: Eliza Dushku (Faith); Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers); K. Todd Freeman (Mr. Trick); Harry Groener (Mayor Richard Wilkins III); Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce)
Guest cast: Jack Plotnick (Allan Finch, Deputy Mayor); James G. MacDonald (Detective Stein); Amy Powell (TV news reporter); Patricia Place (woman in alley)
Music: “Wish We Never Met” (while Willow is crying in the bathroom), by Kathleen Wilhoite, from Pitch Like a Girl.
Plot: While Buffy faces the emotional consequences of her walk on the wild side, Faith joins the forces of evil.
THIS WEEK’S UNEXPECTED ADVERSARY: Faith, as a Slayer-gone-bad.
ANALYSIS: Although Buffy didn’t wield the stake that took the life of the Deputy Mayor, part of her feels responsible. Had she been paying better attention, or been quicker, she might have prevented his death. The weight of being involved in any way with the taking of a human life overwhelms Buffy. Plus she feels ashamed at the way she let herself follow Faith’s reckless lead, hurting her friends’ feelings in the process.
Buffy’s seemingly endless well of compassion is once again on display. Rather than turn her back on Faith, Buffy feels even more compelled to reach out. So does Angel, who can relate to the conflicts raging within Faith. He knows the seductive power that taking a life engenders. He knows intimately the dark places within the soul, and his voice of experience begins to breaks down Faith’s emotional walls. She’s put up so many barriers to keep people from being able to hurt her, that she’s lost the ability to feel compassion or remorse.
But whatever chance Angel had to reach Faith is destroyed when the Council takes matters into its own hands through Wesley’s attempt to kidnap Faith and send her back to England for incarceration. Once again the Watchers’ Council’s by-the-book mentality fails because Faith has no respect for the system. Not only does she escape, but, by establishing itself as her enemy, the Council in essence frees Faith to go over to the dark side and offer her services to Mayor Wilkins. Once the Council turns its back on Faith, she takes the attitude that if they think she’s so bad that she needs to be locked up, she’ll show them just how bad she can be.
THE REAL HORROR: Helplessness—no matter how desperately Buffy wants to save Faith from herself, she can’t. It’s the same helplessness many teens and young adults feel when they see former friends making choices that will only lead to a bad end.
OF SPECIAL NOTE: Originally Wesley was supposed to
have been killed by Faith during her escape from the Council’s custody.
MUSICAL NOTE: The featured song in this episode is sung by actress Kathleen Wilhoite, best known for playing Chloe Lewis on ER.
50. “Doppelgängland”
(FEBRUARY 23, 1999)
Director: Joss Whedon
Teleplay: Joss Whedon
Recurring cast: Eliza Dushku (Faith); Harry Groener (Mayor Richard Wilkins III); Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce); Emma Caulfield (Anya); Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder)
Guest cast: Jason Hall (Devon); Ethan Erickson (Percy West); Andy Umberger (D’Hoffryn); Corey Michael Blake (bartender); Megan Gray (Sandy); Michael Nagy (Alfonse); Norma Michael (older woman); Jennifer Nicole (Willow’s body double)
Music: “Virgin State of Mind” (when vampire Willow goes to the Bronze), by k’s Choice, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer soundtrack; “Priced 2 Move” (at the Bronze), by Spectator Pump, from Styrofoam Archives
Plot: While unwittingly helping former vengeance demon Anya regain her powers, Willow accidentally summons her vampire alter ego from Cordelia’s alternate, “without Buffy” universe.
THIS WEEK’S EVIL TWIN: Vampire Willow.
INTRODUCING: Percy West, a jock whom Willow tutors.
ANALYSIS: Whether intentional or not, this episode lays the groundwork for Willow’s later exploration of her sexual identity. It comes as a shock to Willow to notice that her vampire self is overtly sexual and seems to have lesbian leanings—in part because up to this point, Willow’s sexuality has been confined to schoolgirl crushes and romantic fantasies, as opposed to the physical and emotional realities of sexual activity. While Oz, with his wolfian interior, is all guy, he is also a very safe, romanticized boyfriend who exhibits traditionally female traits. He’s artistic, sensitive, in tune with Willow’s emotions, and isn’t controlled by his hormones: Even when Willow offers herself up to him sexually, he turns her down because he doesn’t feel she’s doing it for the right reasons.
There are other aspects that seem to intrigue Willow, such as the vampire Willow’s confidence and how she uses fear to engender respect from others. Surprised by her realization, and perhaps a little troubled that she could possess tendencies she hasn’t noticed, meeting her vampire self seems to open the door of future possibilities for Willow to ponder.
The Girl's Got Bite: The Original Unauthorized Guide to Buffy's World Page 24
